The path to the rune circle was circuitous and rife with veiling runes to keep prying eyes at bay, but Teldus was attuned to the route. He moved confidently, never second-guessing their direction, even though it had been many years since he had retired from the Keeper Conservatory. Orlla’s father stuck close to Teldus, and she couldn’t help wondering if anything about the journey to the rune circle was familiar to him.
Her legs were beginning to give out by the time snatches of muted conversation drifted toward them through the trees. A voice that could only be Jubel’s reached her ears. Her gaze locked with her father’s. The Keepers had made it unscathed to the gathering point.
“We’re almost there,” Teldus said, picking up the pace.
The trail petered out and Teldus led them up to a towering granite wall. Without skipping a beat, they walked through it and crossed beneath a curtain of vines into the rune circle. Orlla darted a glance around, her heart beating in anticipation. A group of horses were hobbled in a small dell nearby, and beyond them, the hooded Keepers sat in a circle around a rune-veiled campfire, scabbards strapped to their waists.
Orlla let out a shout of relief when she spotted Erdhan among them.
He jumped up and ran to her, wrapping her in his arms before speedily releasing her. “You smell worse than before! I take it your lodgings at the castle were equally as unpleasant as the moth-eaten blankets.”
Orlla gave a brittle laugh. “They proved the least of my trials. I’ve been up to my arms in pickled herring and buried in a cartload of dung since last we met.”
Erdhan raised his brows. “I’m quite certain that would eliminate all risk of being discovered. How did you escape from the castle?”
“I stunned the guard escorting me to my cell long enough to shove him inside it and lock the door. How did you find the Keepers?”
“I went to Grizel’s house after the Protectors arrested you,” Erdhan explained. “She relayed a message to them.”
They turned to greet the Keepers flocking around them, relieved, and visibly shocked to see Orlla’s father standing next to Teldus.
“Well done, Teldus!” Jubel exclaimed. “We’ve all been worried about Magnulf. Where did you find him?”
Teldus gave a hearty smile. “Ask him yourself. He’s the one who found me.”
Jubel looked uncertainly from Teldus to Magnulf, then stepped closer, quietening her voice. “Magnulf, do you know who I am?”
He chuckled politely. “I believe the question was how I found Teldus. It was a matter of saddling up and riding to his house.”
Jubel’s eyes widened. “You rode to Tansk?”
“And a fine day it was for a ride. I should get out more often.” Magnulf gave a rueful grin. “I’m told I have been lucid for only a short time, and that it may not be for much longer.”
Jubel gripped his hand tightly. “I am glad for whatever time we have together again.” She turned to Orlla. “Do you have news of Akolom’s whereabouts?”
Orlla swallowed the lump in her throat and shook her head. “He wasn’t in the dungeons.”
Jubel rubbed long, delicate fingers over her forehead. “I will try to find out through my contacts what has become of him. First, we must attend to the business at hand.”
She glanced around at the other Keepers. “Now that we are all here, it’s time to finalize the plan to retrieve the light dragon stone.”
The Keepers resumed their seats round the fire, conversing with one another as they made space for the newcomers.
“In Akolom’s absence,” Jubel began, “I will act as interim master mentor and bear full responsibility for all decisions taken here today.”
The Keepers exchanged grave looks, the hint of protest on their lips, but Jubel didn’t give them the opportunity.
“The course we are setting out on is one of treason in King Ferghell’s eyes, and if we are caught, there is little doubt the consequences will rip our island asunder.” She paused briefly, allowing the weight of her words to linger. “In order to spare Efyllsseum and the mainland kingdoms another long and bloody war, we must succeed in our mission.”
“Thanks to Barhus’s betrayal,” Jubel continued, “we can safely assume King Ferghell has taken the precaution of posting additional Protectors at the entrance to the tunnel.”
Teldus frowned. “We will need to find out the number of Protectors we are dealing with before we attempt to remove the Opal of Light.”
“It matters not if there are five or fifty,” Jubel said. “We will weave veiling runes to conceal whomever is selected to bring out the stone.”
“The runes won’t be strong enough for anyone to travel through the tunnel, retrieve the stone and come back out unseen,” Magnulf countered. “Such runes would require more time than we have at our disposal.”
“We won’t be depending on veiling runes on the way back out,” Jubel said. “The light of the stone will blind the Protectors long enough for us to make our escape.”
Teldus gave a pensive nod. “It’s risky, but it could work.”
Jubel reached for a handful of sticks. “We will cast lots to decide who goes in to retrieve the stone.”
“No. I will do it.” Orlla got to her feet. “I’m the lightest on my feet, the youngest and the fastest, and in Akolom’s absence, the most skilled veiling rune weaver among us. I have the best chance of staying concealed.”
A hush fell over the Keepers as they waited on Jubel’s response.
Orlla’s father stood and laid a hand on hers. “I’ve lived too long a life already. I will go in your place.”
Jubel and Teldus exchanged dubious glances.
“I mean no offense, Magnulf, but, under the circumstances, I must speak plainly,” Teldus said. “If you forget what you’re doing in there, you could put us all at risk.”
“He’s right, Father,” Orlla said. “It has to be me.”
“Then I will accompany you,” Jubel said. “It is my duty to stand in for Akolom.”
Magnulf pressed his lips together in displeased acceptance of the interim master mentor’s decision. “Very well. Let us make sure we can conceal you effectively before we send you in.”
Jubel nodded, her features slackening with relief that Magnulf had acquiesced without a fight. She motioned to Orlla. “Come stand beside me while the other Keepers gather round.”
As directed, the Keepers formed a tight circle around Orlla and Jubel, arms interlinked across each other’s shoulders. Closing their eyes, they began to weave an intricate latticework of runes. After a while, Orlla felt their weight cocooning her like a thick fog moving slowly over the water, blanketing her in its softness and stealing her from view.
“They’ve gone!” Erdhan cried out in a slightly panicked voice.
Orlla’s eyes shot open. She grinned at Erdhan peering past the Keepers into the center of the circle where she stood. She was looking straight at him, yet wholly invisible to anyone but a trained Keeper.
She ducked beneath the Keepers’ arms and stretched out a hand to touch his cheek. He shivered beneath her touch. “Orlla?” he asked incredulously.
She laughed. “Successfully veiled, I gather.”
Erdhan grunted. “Unfortunately, I can still smell you and that dung is ripening.”
“Let us know when you see us come back into view,” Jubel called to him.
“I can see you now!” Erdhan said a heartbeat later.
Teldus shook his head in frustration. “Too soon. They’ll need more time to get farther into the tunnel. Let’s try another combination.”
The Keepers clustered together a second time and began to weave the runes anew. Orlla let her thoughts drift until she felt as if she were being sucked into a vortex of blackness, a swirling mist that became one with the very breath in her lungs.
“I can’t see either of you,” Erdhan said.
“Good.” Jubel gave an approving nod. “I sense the runes went deeper this time. Let’s hope we bought ourselves more time.”
>
The Keepers waited expectantly while Erdhan continued to stare into the center of the circle. He shook his head in disbelief. “I still don’t see you.”
“They’re here,” Magnulf said reassuringly. “Standing in front of me.”
“Ah! Now they are back!” Erdhan marveled.
“That combination gives you thrice as long as before,” Teldus said.
“It should be enough time,” Jubel replied. “We’ll take Erdhan along to confirm we are invisible before we head into the tunnel.”
Orlla’s father placed his hands on her shoulders and held her gaze. “Don’t let down your guard. Staying light on your feet could mean the difference between life and death. You should also know it’s exactly one thousand and ten paces along the tunnel to the Opal of Light.”
She shot him an appreciative smile. “You do remember being here.”
He gave a crooked grin in return. “Make a call like an island egret when you’re ready for us to begin weaving the runes. We will conserve the stone’s power until then.” He turned to Jubel. “Don’t let anything happen to her.”
Jubel gave a sober nod. “I’ll be right by her side.”
“Take care of my father if I don’t make it back,” Orlla confided to Teldus in a passing whisper.
Jubel retrieved a sack from her saddlebag to place the stone in and then exited the rune circle, motioning to Orlla and Erdhan to follow her.
Silently, they made their way through the thick vegetation, creeping ever closer to the crater, until the tunnel that led to the Opal of Light loomed ahead of them.
Jubel held up a hand to halt Erdhan and Orlla. “We have a problem.”
Orlla peered through the trees, fighting her panic as her eyes lit on what Jubel was alluding to.
Veiling runes, or no veiling runes, no one was getting past the mouth of the tunnel.
Chapter 28
Two enormous island wolfhounds were chained in the entrance to the tunnel. Resting on their massive paws with an air of deceptive indifference, their dark eyes roved the trail and surrounding hills, noting every flicker of wings or flash of tail in the brush. Orlla counted at least twelve Protectors patrolling the area in front of the mouth of the tunnel. In a small copse to the left, several steeds and pack horses were tethered.
A deep frown settled over Jubel’s brow. “I hadn’t anticipated the wolfhounds. The veiling runes will hide us from sight, but the hounds will still be able to smell us.”
“They will be able to smell you,” Orlla said. “But my clothing reeks of dung. If I rub my cloak over my face and hands and bury my scent they might mistake me for a horse and lose interest.”
Jubel tugged a hand distractedly through her hair. “I can’t let you go in alone. I promised your father I’d be by your side.”
“This isn’t something you could have predicted,” Orlla said. “We need to move ahead with our plan to retrieve the dragon stone.”
“Even if the wolfhounds take you for a horse, they may start barking and alert the Protectors that something is afoot,” Jubel replied.
“If the hounds start to bark, I’ll howl back at them,” Erdhan offered. “The Protectors will assume coyotes are agitating them.”
Jubel looked unconvinced.
“Take it from me, he can mimic any animal,” Orlla said. “Besides, we don’t have time to second guess ourselves. I’m going in.”
Without waiting for Jubel’s response, she lifted a corner of her cloak and proceeded to rub the cloth vigorously over her face and hands. When she was done she asked, “Do you have the sack to put the stone in?”
Jubel handed it to her, a somber expression on her face. “Alert the Keepers to begin the runes. I will join in their efforts.”
Orlla tipped her head back and cupped her hands over her mouth. “Kuk, kuk, kuk,” she called out repeatedly. Closing her eyes, she settled her thoughts and waited on the veiling runes to reach her and wrap their screening tendrils around her. She breathed steadily in through her nose and out through her mouth until at last she felt the presence of something akin to a cloud thickening in the air about her.
A moment later, Erdhan said in a muted tone. “I can’t see you anymore.”
“Go!” Jubel said, nudging her. “We will hold the runes for as long as we can.”
“When you hear the island egret call again you’ll know I’m on my way back out,” Orlla said. “I may need Erdhan to distract the wolfhounds.”
Instinctively, she ducked down as she advanced toward the tunnel entrance, even though she was invisible to any eye but that of a trained Keeper. Her throat tightened at the commanding sight of the tawny, rough-coated wolfhounds, swift and powerful enough to leap upon her and rip out her throat in half a heartbeat if they were so inclined. She only hoped the scent of horse dung would leave them disinterested in her approach.
She turned her attention to the Protectors, studying the pattern in their movements. It was imperative she keep a close eye on them as well and slip silently between them as they patrolled the area in front of the tunnel. Her breathing stilled like a reptile advancing on its prey as she padded lightly past the first few oblivious Protectors. Still as a statue, she let several more go by as they pounded out their routes. She tiptoed past the last remaining Protectors standing between her and the wolfhounds, and then hesitated, watching the hounds raise their massive heads, their noses twitching as the odor of horse dung filled their sensitive nostrils.
Orlla took another few steps closer, watching the hounds’ reaction closely. One of them began a low rumbling growl at the back of its throat. They were not about to let her pass unacknowledged, whatever they thought she was. Summoning her courage, she advanced another couple of steps. Both wolfhounds barked, not menacingly, but enough to announce that something had caught their attention. The Protector nearest to them halted his round, his fingers closing over the hilt of his sword as he scoured the surrounding terrain.
Seconds later, a coyote howl filled the air, followed by yipping and barking. Both wolfhounds leapt to their feet, barking loudly in response, straining at their chains to break free and answer the wild dogs’ challenge.
“Settle down, you useless dolts!” the Protector yelled.
Seizing her opportunity, Orlla darted between the hounds and ducked beneath the overhanging rock that marked the entrance to the tunnel.
Her heart pounded mercilessly as she felt her way along the slick, rock walls on either side, her ears straining to pick up any hint of pursuing Protectors. Her boots crunched the gravel beneath her, the sound magnified in the tunnel, but the Protectors had been well-deceived by Erdhan’s coyote calls and hadn’t entered the tunnel. Orlla smiled to herself as she counted her paces while weaving a quick protection rune about her. Between yipping and knife-juggling, Erdhan possessed an interesting range of skills, despite his lack of formal education.
The tunnel was dark, but not pitch black anymore, which meant there was a light source up ahead. A faint glow in the distance seeped toward her, a specter growing stronger with each step that she took. Her pulse trembled in her veins as she anticipated beholding the light dragon stone for the very first time. The forbidden rune inscribed on it came to mind, along with her father’s warning never to wield it unless the fate of the world was at stake. It was anyone’s guess what other powers the dragon stone would disclose. She knew better than to gaze directly upon the Opal of Light, but she was apprehensive about touching it and removing it from the spot it had rested in ever since the High Dragon King hurled it from the heavens. It remained to be seen what might be unearthed by such a brazen act. Orlla gripped her sack tighter and quickened her pace. The sooner the stone was safely ensconced in its new resting place on the mainland, the better.
By now, the faint glow had turned into a brilliant light bathing the tunnel in a whiteness so pure that she felt the briny tang of tears prick her eyes. She could almost sense the benevolence emanating from the stone—as though it were begging to be released from
darkness, free to bless the kingdoms of the world once more.
By the time Orlla reached the small cave where the Opal of Light was located, even her skin was glowing with a luminescence so clear it reflected everything around it. Overcome by the otherworldliness of the light, she fell to her knees, chancing only the briefest glance at the dazzling dragon stone lodged upright in a mound of gravel in the far corner of the cave. It was smaller than she had anticipated, but clearer, and more brilliant than anything she had ever seen or imagined. She closed her eyes, adding more layers to the protection rune about her.
Her eyes blinked open when she remembered the urgency of returning to Jubel and Erdhan in a timely manner. Springing into action, she straightened up and began fashioning a weightlessness rune. When she was done, she shook out her sack and reached for the stone which now floated above its perch. Under the dictates of the newly-applied rune, it proved deceptively light, almost floating from her grasp. Catching hold of it at last, Orlla hurriedly pushed it down inside the sack. She turned on her heel and began backtracking down the tunnel, just as she sensed the veiling rune begin to dissipate around her.
When she could see the mouth of the tunnel up ahead, she stopped and called out, “Kuk, kuk, kuk.” She waited a moment or two but heard nothing in response. Creeping closer to the exit, she tried again. One of the wolfhounds barked sharply. Orlla waited on Erdhan to howl like a coyote in response, but silence prevailed. She frowned. Surely, he had heard the wolfhound’s deep-throated bark. A chill passed over her when something else occurred to her. Where were the Protectors? No patrols had passed the mouth of the tunnel in the time she had been watching it.
In silence, she considered her predicament. The veiling runes were no longer in place, and without Erdhan to distract the wolfhounds, they would leap on her at first sight. But she couldn’t wait in the tunnel for much longer either. Time was running out for Samten. By now the veiling runes on the mainland would have weakened enough to reveal the pass through the Angladior mountains. The mainland armies may have already reached the port of Narto for all she knew.
Opal of Light: An epic dragon fantasy (The Keeper Chronicles Book 1) Page 24